geckogod2

I have an idea for for an ultra cool case mod. and need some help.

For christmas, I bought one of those luminglas novelty lights.
For those that do not know what it is, its a kinda like a flat disk that displays lightning or electricity but in various colors. I can get smaller ones so that is not a problem.

A good example is in Star trek: First Contact. I believe it was with the borgs or the queen borg (not sure). Here is a pic of it as well as a vid. of it in action.
http://www.rainbowsymphonystore.com/12inveroflum.html


Now the the easy part is putting it in the case, the part i have a problem is with the power. I'm not even sure if this is doable.

the thing runs off regular current and has a power adapter.


The adapter has this on it:

the input is ac 120V 60Hz 165 mA
the output is DC12V 12W


If anyone can point me in any direction or have any advice to help me out, i would greatly appreciate it.

if you need anymore info. ask me..

thanks all

HoJo

If the output of the power adapter is 12v you should have no problem hooking it up to your power supply. 12 watts shouldn't be a problem either. The thing that bothers me is all that static electricity.

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geckogod2

I'm putting this directly into the side of the case door. I would likely use a server case of some kind cause of its size. It would be held in most likely by a window molding. perhaps some brackets maybe. I could shield the back of it with some sort of anti-static type material.

Well I will work on that. In the meantime, tell me more about how i would covert the plug on the unit over to say a molex 4 pin connector. If even possible even putting two knobs on the front to control the on/off, pattern, etc.


thanks
geckogod2

geckogod2

I have posted some pics of the luminglas powersupply unit taken apart. I destroyed this one but i can get replacements. the pics are located at:

http://www.angelfire.com/pa4/saltwater/computer.html

the captions under the pics explain it better. Is there anyway i can mod this plug without losing the the controls for pattern and sound intensity.



i hope this clears any info up.


thanks
geckogod2

Wixx

Well this looks like one cool, and easy mod to me.

The AC adapter is putting out 12 volts DC. Your computer's power supply puts out 12 volts DC. All you have to do is connect the Lumiglas to the computer and you're done.

First, NOTE THE POLARITY (see attached pic). See how the plug on the other end of the AC adapter is a metal cylinder? Those polarity markings indicate the inside of that cylinder is the positive lead, the outside is the negative. DO NOT SWITCH THE TWO. You job will be to run one of the yellow wires from the molex connectors on your computer's PSU to the positive lead on the Lumiglas, and one of the black wires to the negative lead. I suggest getting a male molex connector (like you'd find in one of those power-splitting cables) and using that so you can quickly connect and disconnect the device...

Remember how Lumiglas & plasma balls work: they generate a high voltage (20,000 volts AC) at low currents (< 1mA). See that metal shield over the Lumiglas' internal power supply? That's because high voltages generate electrical noise and static electricity. You're basically recreating a mini-lightning storm.

We can deal with electrical noise easily. Simply place a silicon diode inline between the power supply connection and the Lumiglas connection to prevent noise from coming back into the computer power supply.

As for the static electricity...you can try shielding it again with aluminum foil (so long as you don't short any of the contacts) or just wing it and see what happens. Hopefully it won't be too much of a problem for you.

And one more thing: you can easily fix that trace on the PCB you carved out, just solder a small wire between two connected points on the trace. No sense in paying for a $20 replacement when you can fix it with $0.50 of wire, solder, and electricity.

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